Growl
by Mr. Donald Ross
Summary: Before the killing...


Author's note:  
This is a 'prequel' to a short story I wrote called 'Roar'.  
I (strongly) suggest you read that story in advance.  
That is all.  
  
  
PS: Merry Christmas (or Happy Hanukkah).  
  
-Mr. Donald Ross.  
  
  
  
"Growl"  
  
  
  
  
  
I could almost see the mountains now.  
The pilot confirmed my accusation, saying, "We're almost there".  
Sally, who was sitting next to me, was looking out the window, and seemed more eager then anybody else (myself included).  
Amy was asleep, with her head rested on Tails' shoulder (who was also asleep).  
'How could they sleep?' I thought to myself.  
With a helicopter this loud, I could never fall asleep.  
Knuckles did not seem to mind the noise ether; this entire trip, he had been very silent and almost alienated himself from the rest of us.  
Since he's constantly alone on that island, Knuckles is usually a little more conversational.  
He has a somewhat worried look.   
Hmmm... something was definitely on his mind.  
Anyway, returning to the subject of everyone's current state of mind, I, myself, am glad that we were taking a break.   
Especially on Christmas, because we rarely ever celebrate it at all, mostly because we had been fighting an evil force that seemed almost undefeatable, also known as: Dr. Ivo Robotnik.  
He is so relentless, and determined, our days of happiness become scarce.  
So we saw an opportunity to stall, and we took advantage of it.  
Finally, a period of time that does not revolve around 'him'.  
Sigh.  
Lately, I have been under a lot of pressure.  
Things have not been going in my favor these last couple of months, and maybe a vacation is what I need.  
Relaxation: a word I welcome with open arms.  
However, where there is relaxation, there is an inevitable event of frustration.  
But I have something that could contain my sanity for a lifetime: Sally.  
Without her, I would freeze and die, like a flower in winter.  
Speaking of winter, I can not help but notice how cold it is.  
I'm not particularly worried though; we were prepared for the worst, and then some.  
Being the cautios person she was, Sally had double-checked our inventory before we left.  
Some rope, rock climbing gear, cell-phones (just in case), extreme temperature clothing, and an emergency medical kit.  
First we climb up the mountain, then, once we reach a certain point, we will reside in two log cabins, which will supply us with food, beds, and heating systems.  
It should be quite exciting indeed.   
Amy will not be joining us however; she only came to say goodbye to Tails, and me.  
I thought Tail's was a little to young to come with us, but Sally insisted that he would be fine.  
Ah, Sally.  
She could get me to change my mind about almost anything.  
I turn my head to see her face again.  
?  
She has that same worried look that Knuckles has.  
  
  
  
Well, so far so good.  
Then again, not much has happened.  
...  
I look over at Knuckles, who is staring down at the cold metal floor.  
Such a troubled stare, he has.   
An unaware, engrossed, and lost stare.  
He's probably thinking the same thing I am: I hope Sonic doesn't take this too hard.  
Just thinking about it, unnerves me.  
I turn away from Knuckles, and continue looking out the window.  
It's becoming difficult to enjoy this vacation, when all I can think about is that I'm going to tell Sonic, that Knuckles and I had an affair.  
Oh, why did that night have to happen?  
It was an accident, nothing more, nothing less.  
I know I've always been attracted to Knuckles, but Sonic is the one I love.  
And I'm not going to lie to my lover; what kind of person would that make me?  
But what if he gets pissed, and does something rational?  
Letting out a frustrated breath, I watch the glass in front of me become blurry.  
I might be thinking about this too much.  
Trying to change my train of thought, I look at the other side of the helicopter to see Amy and Tails sleeping on each other.  
I smile.  
Amy looks cute with the Christmas style dress, and that adorable little hat.  
It's wonderful to see a girl at her age; so innocent, so naïve, and so full of life.  
Almost bliss.  
...  
But she'll grow up; and then she'll see what it's like.  
...  
I start looking out the window again.  
  
  
  
Why?  
Why did this shit have to happen?  
This whole thing is making my holiday suck.  
...  
Come to think of it, why do we even celebrate Christmas?  
It's just some holiday the humans made that has something to do with a guy named Jesus Christ.  
Think my human history is a little rusty?  
Well, fuck you.  
Damn, now I'm talking to myself.  
But still, how did a holiday get passed down to us?  
Hmph; probably has something to do with our corporations being able sell more shit.  
Man, life is messed up.  
...  
Looking up from the metal floor, I see Sally staring out the window.  
I start thinking about the night it happened.  
If only I went home a little earlier that night.  
If only I said, "I think I should go", instead of, "Do you want me to stay?" when she started crying.   
I keep playing the scene over, and over, in my mind.  
Had this stupid event never have happened, I might actually be enjoying myself.  
But no, I had to get involved.  
Don't get me wrong though, I do love Sally; just in the way a brother and sister would (or, should) love each other.  
Now she was looking at Amy, and Tails, who were sleeping on each other.  
Right now, looking at something cute does not change my mood; maybe if I had burnt my breakfast or something, it would cheer me up, but that's clearly not the case.  
I told her we didn't have to tell anyone, and that it could have been our secret.  
But Sally said she didn't want to lie.  
And I respect her honesty, I really do, but does Sonic need this right now?  
The poor guy has been working really hard to make everyone happy.  
He even bought Amy that nice dress.  
We ask so much from him.  
And now, my best friend, who has not been himself lately, is going to find out that his love cheated on him, with me.  
Worse case scenario: he'll kill me.  
...  
I look back down at the floor.  
  
  
  
After a slightly uncomfortable landing, we began to emerge from the helicopter.  
When my feet touched the soft, snow covered, ground, I looked at the gigantic mountains that surrounded us; I beautiful sight indeed.  
I closed my eyes, and breathed in the pure winter air.  
Upon exhaling, I opened my eyes, and smiled.   
Now, 'this' is a vacation.  
I'm beginning to feel enlightened.  
Who knows?  
Maybe when we return to Knothole, I'll have a whole new, positive, perspective on everything.  
I turned around to see Amy, who still looked a bit tired.  
Seeing her reminded me that she was in charge of the supplies.   
"Amy, do you have the supplies?"  
She rubbed an eye, and yawned.  
"Yeah; they're in the helicopter".  
Relieved, I smiled.  
"Good".  
Amy looked away.  
She seemed to have a disappointed look on her face.  
I wonder what's bothering her?  
"Is something wrong?"  
She slowly turned her head towards me.  
"It's just..."  
She paused.  
"I was hoping to spend Christmas with 'you', Sonic".  
When she said 'you', she lowered her head, and looked at the ground.  
I sighed, and put a hand on her shoulder.  
"I'm sorry Amy, but I really need to get away, y'know?"  
"I know you do Sonic, but..."  
She trailed off.  
Hmmm... I could tell that she really didn't want me to go.  
Perhaps I should lighten the situation.  
"Tell you what: I'll give you a little gift to hold you over while I'm gone".  
Her eyes lit up.  
"Really?"  
"Yeah; close your eyes".  
Looking very excited, she closed her eyes tightly, and bit the bottom of her lip in anticipation.  
I leaned forward, and lightly kissed her on the cheek.  
She opened her eyes, and heavily blushed.  
"Merry Christmas, Amy".  
Putting her arms around me, she smiled, and looked much happier, then she did a minute ago.  
"Merry Christmas to you too, Sonic".  
We held each other for a while, and then I realized we had to get going.  
I broke from the embrace, and put both my hands on Amy's shoulders.  
"Now don't you be falling in love with anybody else while I'm gone".  
She blushed again.  
"I'll go get the supplies".  
"Okay, I'll be waiting here"  
She gave me one last smile, and started walking towards the helicopter.  
I put my hands in my pockets, and smile.  
"It looks like things are finally getting better"  
  
  
Sonic is so nice.  
He knows just the right thing to say, all the time.  
And getting a kiss from him is definitely what I needed.  
When he gets back, maybe I should give 'him' a present.  
Before I reach the helicopter, I see Knuckles, walking out of it.  
He's been pretty quiet this whole trip; maybe I should try making conversation.  
"Hi Knuckles"  
He gives me a confused look, as if he doesn't know where he is.  
"Oh... uh... hi, Amy"  
He walks past me, looking kind of annoyed.  
...  
Knuckles sure is acting weird lately.  
I wonder what's bothering him...  
Well, whatever it is, I'm sure Sonic will help him out.  
Ah, Sonic.  
Sally is so lucky to have a boyfriend like him.  
He must be the perfect man, I swear to god.  
What else could you ask for?  
I've been thinking about him more frequently nowadays.  
In fact, I'm thinking about him so much, that while I'm getting the supplies, I don't notice I forgot the bag of cell-phones.  
  
  
  
The helicopter had left, and we had climbed for an hour, before it happened.  
Sonic had asked if he could see the cell-phone bag, so he could make sure all the batteries were charged.   
Sally opened the first bag.  
"Nope; that's the medical kit"  
Sally opened the second bag.  
"This one's the rope"  
...  
We all just stood there in silence; the only sound was Sally, opening the bags.  
Sally had check all of the bags, and now had a puzzled look on her face.  
She had even opened the same bag twice, and still no answer; she began to count with her fingers, implying that she was stumped.  
Sonic stared at her for a moment, and then his eyes widened in realization.  
"Sally, you've got to be kidding me."  
Tails was looking at both Sonic and Sally, wondering what was going on.  
Lifting her head up, a troubled expression was on Sally's face.  
Sonic looked as though he was going to scream in anger.  
"For the love of God; please tell me you have the cell-phone bag."  
Why did he have to say that?  
We all knew that she didn't have it, and he was only making it worse.  
She closed her eyes, and reluctantly shook her head.  
Sonic's mouth dropped, and he looked at the bags, and then back at her.  
She sunk her face into her hands.  
I swear I could see a vein throbbing above Sonic's eyebrow.  
"...But... we..."  
He seemed to be at a loss of words.  
"SHIT!"  
Well, that's one word.  
Tails had jumped when Sonic yelled the profanity.  
Sally lifted her head from her hands, with a look of anger, and surprise.  
"Sonic! Don't use that kind of language in front of Tails!"  
"Oh, what're you? His goddamn mother?"  
Whoa!  
Now this was getting personal.  
I decided that I should intervene, before someone throws a punch.  
Stepping between them, I hold up hands to both of them.  
"Guys, guys! Calm down. I know this is a really bad situation, but as long as we're careful, we shouldn't even need the cell-phones."  
They both seemed a little reassured, but I could tell Sonic was about to explode.  
I let my hands down.  
"Now c'mon; let's climb this mountain, get to the cabins, and have dinner, okay? Everything's gonna be fine."  
  
  
  
Two weeks later:  
  
  
  
"The bodies of Miles Prower, Sally Acorn, and Knuckles, were found this morning."  
"The three had gone on a vacation along with Sonic the Hedgehog."  
"Here with an analysis of the bodies is Kent. Kent?"  
"Thank you Mindy. Upon inspection of the body of Knuckles, there was an arm that had been completely separated from the joint at the shoulder."  
"Further inspection revealed a large amount of semen, that was in the wound where the arm was apparently 'pulled' off."   
"Both, Sally Acorn, and Tails Prower, had been severely beaten until they couldn't breath, which resulted in death; back to you, Mindy."  
"Thanks Kent. Stocks today are..."  
THE END. 


End file.
